Clinical Legal Education As A Means To Advance Access To Justice In India

Background The Preamble of the Indian Constitution provides that justice – social, economic and political has to be provided to the citizens. Part IV of the Indian Constitution provides fundamental rights to the citizens. Art. 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that ‘everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the Constitution or by law.’ Art. 39A of the Indian Constitution...

A Legend Steps Out To Bat On A Dicey Pitch: What Lies Ahead For The New Attorney General For India

Senior Advocate KK Venugopal, a doyen of the Indian bar is the thirteenth lawyer to become the Attorney General for India. At the age of eighty-six, he will also be the oldest man to have been appointed AG. This shouldn’t case any doubts on his ability to do this enormously stressful and important job – anyone who has seen him in the Supreme Court for a length of time would know that he is as sprightly and as active as someone less than half his age. In just the last few years, he has handled...

Remembering Justice Tarkunde: A Crusader For The Cause Of Civil Liberties

Today is the 108th Birthday of Justice TarkundeToday, when the country is passing through a severe stress on the state of Human Rights in different dimensions, we remember the role and contributions of Justice Tarkunde on his 108th birthday.After the passing away of Tarkunde on March 22, 2004, the country has faced Human Rights issues under different regimes.From time to time, the civil liberties movement has been responding to such challenges. Time has come to consider the responses of the...

Remembering Justice HR Khanna On His 105th Birthday

July 3, 2017, marks the 105th birth anniversary of the late Justice HR Khanna.  This is my small tribute to a great son of India.Even after so many years, Justice Khanna's courage and independence continue to inspire and remind generations of lawyers and judges of the sacrifice he made in upholding human rights, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.He was born in 1912, joined the Bar in 1934, was appointed a district and sessions judge in 1952 and was elevated to the Punjab High...

KK Venugopal : A Great Human Being And A Jurist Par Excellence

Today the President of India has cleared the name of  Shri K. K. Venugopal as the new Attorney-General for India. Mr. Venugopal is practicing as Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of India for a long time (about five decades) and is an internationally known jurist who has appeared in many landmark cases in the Supreme Court as well as the different High Courts in the country. He holds the legacy of his great father Mr. M. K. Nambiar who had played a great role in the A. K. Gopalan case and...

‘Can We Not Do Better?’ [Part-III] By R.Basant, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court]

Like a school boy I am waiting for my court to reopen. I took the first available flight after the courts closed on the 9th of May to Calicut  and am waiting for the flight on the 1st of July to take me back to Delhi to be there to welcome the new judicial year at the Supreme Court.Let me confess. This Senior citizen has not done much of updation, research or work during the vacation. The weather in Kerala has been fine and it was great to be with family and friends. But such lazy times  compel...

In A First, Two Women Judges Adorn First Court Of Madras HC

In a first, the First Court of the Madras High Court has been adorned by two women Judges- Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice V. Bhavani Subbaroyan.Justice Indira Banerjee was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court in March this year. She is the second woman Judge to head the Court, after Justice Kanta Kumari Bhatnagar (June – November, 1992).Born on 24 September, 1957,...

Too Much Noise? Maharashtra Govt’s Bill Imposes Rs. 2,000 Fine On Honking In Silence Zones

The Maharashtra government, in an affidavit before the Bombay High Court, has stated that the state assembly passed a Bill to enact the Maharashtra Transport and Roads Safety Act on April 6, 2017.Once it receives presidential assent, the Bill will bring about significant changes in rules for honking in silence zones.Under Section 15 (1) of the said Act, it is contemplated that the...

IT Amendment Rules Making Aadhaar Mandatory For PAN Application From July-1, Notified [Read Notification]

The Income Tax Amendment Rules [Income –tax (17th Amendment) Rules, 2017] which makes quoting Aadhaar mandatory for PAN Application from July-1, has been notified.As per the amended sub-rule 5 of Rule 114, from 01.07.2017, for a PAN card application in 49A, the Aadhaar Number must be quoted. In case the Aadhaar number has not been allotted, then the Aadhaar enrolment number must...

Aadhaar Shouldn’t Be A Pre-requisite For Getting Food Articles From Ration Shops: Rajasthan HC [Read Order]

Rajasthan High Court has directed the authorities to ensure that all those who hold a Ration Card are issued the Rations as per the entitlement without insisting upon the holder of the Ration Card obtaining an Aadhaar Card.The Bench comprising Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice S.P. Sharma in its interim order dated 30th May observed, “The respondents are directed to ensure that...

Implementation Of TDS, TCS Provisions Under GST Act Deferred

The government has postponed the implementation of provisions relating to TDS (Section 51) and TCS ( Section 52) of the CGST / SGST Act 2017 .The Finance Ministry has informed that “with the objective of ensuring smooth rollout of GST and taking into account the feedback received from the trade and industry regarding the provisions of deduction of tax at Source under Section 51 of the CGST...

Gujarat HC Quashes Charges for Kidnapping of Minor Girl After Her Nikah with Alleged Kidnapper [Read Judgment]

The Gujarat High Court recently quashed an FIR against a 25 year old man for kidnapping a minor girl, after the two got married.The Court was hearing a Petition filed by one Afvan Afirbhai Januhasan, who had been accused by the 16 year old girl’s father, pursuant to which offences under Sections 363 (punishment for kidnapping) and 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel...